More Indian Summer

More Indian Summer following Thursday's heavy rain. Lots of American Goldfinch, particularly around the head-of-the-marsh areas, presumably feeding on some of the many flowers that have gone to seed. As usual, the goldfinches were flying with associated species, notably House Finches (which are related) and Yellow-rumped Warblers (which ae not). I looked and listened very hard to see if here were any Pine Siskins in the mix (they have been seen this year) but I couldn't see or hear any. I did see two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers as well as Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Blue-headed Vireo, both cold weather species still active in a warm October. One lingering Gray Catbird but very few sparrows of any kind. Two Red-tailed Hawks over Pine Neck were the only entries in the raptor column

Everytime I go out these days I see different kinds of white and blue asters. This morning's haul included one white species with narrow lance-shaped leaves and another with bluish tint to the flowers and toothed leaves. Also a few fall mushrooms from the rains including some small puffballs and a few agaricus which I picked for the table.

Eric Salzman